Friday, February 22, 2013

A Principal Writes... Pretty Lies and Powerful Truths - Part 8


In response to the 11/29/12 post, “Pretty Lies and Powerful Truths – Part 5,” a Principal writes:

The voucher issue as well as the charter school and virtual classroom issues are a major part of the current legislative session. As advocates for public education reform we must recognize that the inadequacy of state funding to public education in Texas is the civil rights issue of our time. 

People, get off your duffs and open your eyes and ears to what's going on around you, around us, and around our schools and the students we serve. Follow, or better yet join, organizations like Raise Your Hand Texas to stay informed, involved, and at the bare minimum be able to clearly articulate your opinions on the critical issues that will soon make your daily life's work even more difficult!

Take the red pill...

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Thursday, February 21, 2013

A Superintendent Writes... The Anti-CSCOPE Agitators


A LYS Superintendent submits the following:

SC, 

The problem with the anti-CSCOPE agitators is that they can find “facts” that support their agenda. For example, the CSCOPE management organization (TESCC) has petitioned the Attorney General for a ruling on its status. Though this is not an uncommon practice (as any Superintendent knows), to the layperson or purposefully uninformed, it smells like something else.

If there is a CSCOPE controversy, it is driven by the lessons.  I would advise CSCOPE to get out of the lesson business and just let teachers share ideas via some forum, like Project Share.

The anecdotal evidence provided by the agitators can be attributed to random (yet expected) incidents of poor teaching practice, poor leadership practice, and general griping. Nothing by itself detrimental, but the overall mix is toxic and confuses the real issues of instructional support and improvement. Like it or not, the anti-CSCOPE movement does seem to have legs.

SC Response
I can’t disagree with anything you present. But it does bring two things to mind. 

First, in the early 2000s a group that wanted to develop and sell a curriculum tool, similar to what CSCOPE is today, approached me.  They made me a very attractive offer, which I turned down. When they asked why, I told them that I didn’t see their idea as viable. The reason? I had never met a teacher or administrator that didn’t hate the curriculum and blame the majority of their problems on it.  This is seemingly a universal truth.  Long story short, the company didn’t make it.  It seems that no matter what they did, teachers kept complaining about the product.

Second, in dealing with the anti-CSCOPE agitators, I’m reminded of the reason why you don’t wrestle with pigs.  All that happens is that you get dirty and the pigs like it.

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of February 10, 2013


A number of you in the LYS Nation are now Twitter users.  If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us.  To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of February 10, 2013.

1. Pearson has a $468 million contract with Texas. Oh, and the Former House Education Chairman as a lobbyist. (By @funnymonkey)

2. I've yet to have a student tell me they can't use technology in class because they haven't had any PD on it. (By @sjunkins)

3. I will concede that not all students will go to college... If you will concede that you are not the judge and jury who decides.

4. "If there’s a "but" at the end of your comment about students, your expectations are lowered." (By @PrincipalDiff)

5. So far "school choice" in Texas has meant the Legislature chooses to fund one school at $4747 per pupil and chooses to fund another at $8500+ per pupil. (By @johnkuhntx)

6. Technology is not inherently innovative (it is the tool)...it is the human element (the driver) that makes it innovative. (By @DCulberhouse)

7. Sanger MS is discussing in our faculty meeting today how The Fundamental 5 has affected our campus. Staff has embraced it! (By @dsteeber)

8. L. Cain says most the important part of lesson is closure: Where kids prove what they learned that day. Creates opportunity for applied learning. (By @6thgradersrule)

9. LYS Nation, A great 4-part piece on the Anti-CSCOPE Arguments. The crazies are out in full force on this one. Hopefully common sense will prevail. (By @dsteeber)

10. If your school improvement plan is to create "separate but equal," shame on you.

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Happy Birthday to the Blog


That’s right LYS Nation, our daily conversation is four years old today. It alternately feels like we just started this yesterday and that we have been doing this forever. I have to admit when I started writing four years ago I had no expectations and no idea where this would take us. My biggest fear was that I would have writer's block after the first two weeks. Fortunately, the blog struck a cord with you (the reader and practitioner) and the LYS Nation was born. Writer’s block has yet to be an issue because the LYS Nation quickly stepped up and took over the topics of discussion. And as I regularly remind you, it is much easier and rewarding to participate in a dialogue than support a never-ending monologue.
I thought it would be fun to re-visit the first post I wrote for the blog, and yes, exactly four years later, I’m dashing this off right before I hit the road to visit another school.
Thank you for another great year and who knows where we’ll go in the upcoming year.
Here I am sitting in another airport terminal at 6:00 in the morning. I wish I could say that this is unusual, but it’s not. I’m now a school road warrior. For the past 5 (now 9) years I have lived on the road, 3, 4 and too often 5 nights a week. Going where schools and principals have needs and problems that they need help with.
There are some perks. Because of the travel points I’m a Hilton Diamond member and a Continental (now United) Elite member. This means on a big jet and in a big city, I get upgraded. That happens a couple a times a month, but most of the time I’m on a small plane going to a small town. I also get a lot of free Southwest Airline tickets. “Congratulations, you fly a lot, do you want to fly some more?”
I’m not complaining. I’m just making the case that I have seen a lot, worked with a lot of principals and schools, and have fixed a lot of problems. All of that to say, that what I’ve seen, what I’ve learned, and what I do may be useful out there.
I have observed that school leaders for the most part live on islands. Islands that have been built by isolation, misinformation, wishful thinking and/or petty jealousies. Hopefully, I can help get some of you off the island, or at least make the island more hospitable.
So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to write about school leadership and school operations. The focus will mostly be on improvement and what works. But I’ll also write about the tools that I find useful, books that I have read, conversations that I have had and respond to your comments. Who knows where this will go? I just hope that every once in a while, you’ll find something that is useful to you, your school and/or your staff.
Time to board now, off to another city and another school.

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook